


odd ways

by peterbparker



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, BAMF Sarah Rogers, Blushing Steve Rogers, Bucky finds this amusing, Embarrassed Steve Rogers, Fluff, Irish Sarah Rogers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Sarah acts as a dating platform and sets Bucky and Steve up, Steve does not, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26628184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peterbparker/pseuds/peterbparker
Summary: “And it would have been an amazing night with my son if he wasn’t distracted by the hot guy on the other side of the room,” Sarah sighed, shaking her head. “He’s been looking over at you for the past fifteen minutes.”Bucky choked on the mouthful of beer he had just taken.“What?” he croaked. Things were starting to make a little more sense now.“Right?” Sarah said, waving her hand towards her son. “He completely ignored my garden stories because he’s been making eyes at you so I decided to come over and introduce myself.”or; Sarah Rogers being a nosey mother, Steve Rogers blushing a lot and wishing the earth would swallow him whole, and Bucky Barnes being confused and amused for 2000 words
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 66
Kudos: 516





	odd ways

**Author's Note:**

> wtf am i doing?
> 
> highly inspired by Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father S4 EP1 where Jack goes speed dating and his parents tag along. it had my mum and i in stitches and i couldn't not write this (highly recommend the watch on netflix)
> 
> title from All Ways by Elliott Park (such a cute fucking song, you need to listen to it)

☘☘☘

**Nat: don’t be a baby :)**

Bucky huffed at his phone and leant back in the booth of the bar, taking a swing from his half-full bottle of beer. He was meant to meet Natasha here for their Friday night drinks, but something had come up at her work and she was ditching him.

Figures.

**Bucky: i’m not being a baby. I’m here alone now.**

**Nat: maybe you could get laid?**

**that’s always an option**

**Bucky: fuck off**

He looked up and around at the bar. It was pretty typical, dark wooden walls with a tall bar in the centre, red-lined booths and tables lined around the walls. Music was playing from the jukebox by the door, a steady beat under the ruckus of a drunk Brooklyn on a Friday night.

**Nat: i’m just saying :)**

Bucky was quickly typing out a response of curse words and anger when someone slid into the booth opposite him.

He looked up, startled, to find an older woman beaming at him, a bottle of beer in her delicate fingers. She had pretty sky blue eyes open wide, face wrinkled with age and greying hair was done in a braid down the back of her head. She wore a leather jacket over the top of a blue shirt and she was looking at Bucky with excitement?

“Hi,” Bucky said, utterly confused.

He closed his phone and put it facedown on the table, giving the woman his full attention.

“Hello,” she said, a tilt to her voice that Bucky suspected was Irish of some sort. “How are you?”

“Great,” Bucky bit the inside of his cheek wanting to ask what the fuck was going on because this was slightly weird, but Winnie Barnes raised a polite boy, so he held it back. “How are you?”

“Fantastic,” she gushed, leaning forward a little. “I have a few questions.”

“Okay.”

“Oh!” she said, blinking, before sticking out her hand. “Before I start, I’m Sarah Rogers.”

Bewildered, Bucky shook her hand. “Hi, Sarah Rogers. I’m James Buchanan Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky.”

“Bucky,” she said the word slowly as if she was trying to savour what it tasted like in her mouth. 

“Perfect!”

“Thank you?” Bucky was so confused. He quickly looked around the bar, noting that no one was paying attention and a guy had his heads in his hands across the room. Wow, he had nice shoulders.

“Bucky, how old are you?” Sarah asked, forcing Bucky to turn back towards her.

“I’m thirty-two.”

This seemed to please Sarah because her smile grew. “Are you single?”

Bucky’s heart started to pick up in pace. Was this woman coming onto him? He was flattered, but no thank you. “Yes, I am.”

Sarah’s smile was growing. “And are you into men?”

Bucky kind of felt like he was in dangerous territory. He shifted in his seat, wondering what the fuck was going on. “Yeah, I’m gay.”

“Brilliant!” Sarah clapped her hands together and slumped into her seat. “That’s such a relief.”

“It is?”

“Yes,” Sarah nodded and took a sip from her beer, smiling softly at Bucky. “And what do you do for a living, Bucky?”

“I’m a mechanic,” Bucky was sure his face was scrunched together very unattractively right now but these questions and Sarah’s responses to his answers were not giving him any clues on what was going on. “I own a shop.”

“Wow,” Sarah smirked. “Must be good with your hands then, hey?”

Was that a sexual innuendo? It felt like a sexual innuendo.

Bucky took a gulp of his beer because of his lack of words in this entire situation. He was starting to think that this was one of those Facebook posts his ma still tags him in about some  guy going up to random strangers and asking them questions to see if they’re a good person or something. He didn’t notice anyone filming them though.

“So,” Sarah said, sitting up straighter like she had important news to deliver. “I’m actually here with my son, Steven Grant Rogers, but he goes by Steve. That’s him sitting over there.”

She pointed towards the man Bucky had noticed earlier with the nice shoulders who had his head in his hands. He had shifted positions now, slumping very far down in his booth, arms crossed over his chest and looking over at them.

Sarah waved at her son, so Bucky did too. Steve slumped further down his seat, rubbing his forehead. He looked embarrassed. Like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole and spit him out in Eastern Europe. Bucky’s lips twitched into a smile but he forced it down as  Sarah continued to talk.

“We’re meant to be having a mother and son bonding night over drinks,” Sarah said, turning back to Bucky. “We’ve both been busy lately so we haven’t been able to see each other as much as we would like to.”

Bucky was so fucking confused. Was this woman talking to him because she was annoyed at her son? Was this a regular occurrence for her?

“And it would have been an amazing night with my son if he wasn’t distracted by the hot guy on the other side of the room,” Sarah sighed, shaking her head. “He’s been looking over at you for the past fifteen minutes.”

Bucky choked on the mouthful of beer he had just taken. 

“What?” he croaked. Things were starting to make a little more sense now. 

“Right?” Sarah said, waving her hand towards her son. “He completely ignored my garden stories because he’s been making eyes at you so I decided to come over and introduce myself.”

“Oh,” Bucky said, his lips twitching as amusement started to overtake his confusion. “And he clearly didn’t want you to?”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Steve is a very headstrong boy. He got into a lot of fights during school, still does, sometimes, but he got out of a pretty serious relationship a year ago and has had trouble putting himself out there again.”

Bucky was smiling now as he turned back towards Steve who had both his hands covering his face, fingers spread apart so he could watch them. Bucky smiled at him and Steve physically recoiled, probably hoping that he could somehow melt into the booth and become one with it.

Oh my fucking god, Bucky thought, this is the most hilarious thing to happen to me since Becca won an academic award. 

“So,” Bucky smiled at Sarah. “Tell me a bit about Steve.”

Sarah rolled her shoulders. “He’s a dumbass. He’s thirty-one years old, bisexual, works as an art teacher at an elementary school. When he was about seven years old he started to collect  potatoes in his room because he had just read about the Irish Potato Famine, and he was worried we’d run out of potatoes because we’re Irish. He’s sweet, stubborn, and apparently good in bed.”

Bucky threw his head back in laughter. “Good to know.”

“I thought so,” Sarah shrugged.

They both turned to look at Steve, who was now sitting up straight, fits clenched on the table and resolutely looking away from them. The lighting was a bit dim, but Bucky could make out his jawline, blonde hair, red cheeks.

“He’s pretty,” Bucky said.

Sarah nodded. “I did well with that one.”

“One?” Bucky asked, watching as Steve turned to look at them but realised they were already looking at him so he spun his head back around. “Any other kids?”

“Nope, just Steve, and thank god. He was enough to handle. Do you have any siblings?”

“Three younger sisters.”

“Oh,” Sarah gasped. “That’s good, that’s good. Does that mean you want to have children someday?”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, turning back to face Sarah because Steve was practically shaking under the attention. “Someday.”

Sarah smiled then stood up abruptly. “Would you like me to drag Steve over here? It’s okay if you’d rather not.”

Bucky looked from a smiling, hesitant Sarah to a prettily blushing Steve, his lips stretching into a smirk. “Yeah, bring him over.”

Sarah planted a kiss on Bucky’s cheek and skipped over to her son, who immediately started talking a mile per minute at her. Sarah wrapped her arms around Steve’s bicep, which Holy Jesus was big, and pulled him up.

He didn’t resist physically, but he was hissing at her as she smiled and tugged him towards Bucky. They came to a stop right at Bucky’s table, and Bucky smirked, taking in Steve.

He was tall and well built, the white t-shirt he was wearing stretching across his muscles. He had pretty blue eyes, just like his mothers, and a crooked nose that Bucky suspected had been  broken in one of his childhood fights. He gave Bucky a small smile, white teeth a stark contrast to the tomato red of his face. Yes, Bucky was going to enjoy the fuck out of this.

Bucky gestured to the seat Sarah had previously occupied. “Take a seat, Steve, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Steve groaned and slid into the seat, taking Sarah’s beer and chugging it within a few seconds, trying to drown out the embarrassment that was no doubt filling his gut. Bucky watched his throat move with the movement, his smirk growing. 

“Okay,” Sarah said, taking the now empty bottle of beer from her son's hand who watched it go longingly. “Steve, this is Bucky. Bucky, this is Steve.”

“Hi, Stevie,” Bucky held out his hand, which Steve shook. “Nice to meet you.”

Steve grumbled something but it was too quiet for Bucky to pick up. He had a sneaky suspicion he was probably cursing out his mother. 

“Bucky is thirty-two,” Sarah said, placing a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky made sure to smile the smile that Nat said gave people a heart attack. It seemed to work on Steve. “He’s a mechanic and owns his own shop. He’s the oldest of four, he has three little sisters, and he’s gay. He’s also single, which is great.”

Steve mumbled something again which sounded like, “I’d fucking hope he’s single you crazy woman.”

“He’d like to have kids someday,” Sarah continued, squeezing Bucky’s shoulder as Steve’s eyes widened. “And he thinks you’re pretty.”

“Perfect introduction, Sarah,” Bucky said, watching in amusement as Steve’s blush somehow deepened. Bucky really wanted to find out how far that blush went. He was so pretty when he blushed. “Couldn’t have done it better myself, honestly.”

Sarah grinned and kissed Bucky on the cheek again before patting her son on the head. “I’ll be back at our table. Be nice, okay? Bucky’s a keeper.”

Steve clenched his jaw and watched as Sarah lazily walked over to the bar to get herself another beer.

“Your ma is great,” Bucky said, laughter caught in his throat as Steve whipped his head around to stare at Bucky.

“My ma is crazy,” Steve said, American accent with a hint of Brooklyn. Huh, his mother must have migrated over here, Bucky thought.

“Well to be fair,” Bucky shrugged. “I heard you were ruining your drinks night because you kept eyeing me.”

Steve’s mouth dropped open a little bit and he snapped it shut. Bucky tried everything in his willpower not to burst out laughing right there.

“Fuck, I am so so sorry,” Steve said, in a rush. “I tried to stop her because it looked like you were busy on your phone and it’s honestly so weird. I would say she’s not normally like this but she is.”

“It must be rough,” Bucky said, making sure his tone was light and his amusement shone through to try and get some of the tension in Steve’s beautiful shoulders to ease. “Having a mother who’d talk to the hot guy across the room for you.”

Steve groaned, his hands coming up to cover his face. “Holy fuck. What else did she tell you?”

Bucky chuckled. “Well, your name is Steven Grant Rogers. You’re thirty-one years old and an art teacher at an elementary school,” as Bucky continued with the list Steve sunk lower and lower into his seat. “You’re bisexual, a dumbass, stubborn but sweet. You got into way too many fights in your childhood and apparently still do. She’s glad she didn’t have any other kids because you were enough to handle. Apparently, you’re good in bed.”

“Oh god,” Steve groaned, closing his eyes and letting his head thunk back against the back of the booth. “What else did she say?”

Bucky hesitated but it felt weird that he knew this about Steve and Steve didn’t know that he knew. “And you got out of a pretty serious relationship a year ago and haven’t been getting back in the game.”

Steve shot up, eyes wide and a twitch to his jaw. “She told you that?”

Bucky nodded.

“Fucking hell,” Steve cursed, whipping his head around to glare at his mother who was watching them over the top of her new bottle of beer at their table. She waved. Steve flipped her off. “That is not something you mention when you first meet someone, Jesus Christ.”

“That’s okay,” Bucky said, quietly, letting his amusement be replaced with sincerity. “Really, Steve. You seem like a great guy and this whole thing has been fucking hilarious, I’ll tell you that. Much better than a random guy asking me to suck his dick in the alleyway.”

Steve groaned again and turned back to face Bucky. He watched Bucky for a few seconds, probably trying to calculate if Bucky was okay with this turn of events for the night, whether he was uncomfortable with Sarah being a nosey mother. He seemed to decide something, relaxing back in his chair, cheeks still a little pink, but a smirk growing on his face.

“Well, before Ma came over here I was thinking of asking if I could suck your dick back at my apartment.”

Bucky’s heart fluttered at the thought and he leaned back in his chair, raising a challenging eyebrow to Steve. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded, his eyes darkening a little as Bucky licked his lips. 

“But first,” Bucky leaned forward, making sure to drop his voice a few notches to fully cast the spell. It was a success as Steve watched him intently, leaning forward. “Let’s talk about you hoarding potatoes in your room when you were seven years old.”

The spell was broken. Steve groaned loudly, throwing himself back into the chair, hitting his head on the booth. He didn’t care, because his face was red and he was trying to hide underneath the table.

Bucky didn’t hold back on the laughter that had been threatening to burst since he realised what Sarah was doing. He laughed loudly, probably too loudly, his shoulders shaking with the  effort. He wheezed in between breaths, his stomach aching with the strain. He wiped his watering eyes and Steve looked at him fondly across the table.

He heaved in a big breath. “Can I get your number?”

He was set off again by Steve nodding enthusiastically and taking Bucky’s unlocked phone from his hands, putting in his number and name with a potato and heart emoji afterwards.

Bucky turned to Sarah, who was watching them with a blinding smile. She gave Bucky a thumbs up, who returned it. He turned to Steve, only to find him flipping the bird at his mother.

Sarah made a rude and suggestive gesture back, which made Bucky howl with laughter and Steve turn bright red again.

Looking back on that night during Christmas dinner at the Rogers’ nearly nine months later, holding Steve’s hand across the table and Sarah taking the credit for their relationship, Bucky was very glad Nat had ditched him that night. 

☘☘☘

**Author's Note:**

> please give me serotonin by commenting, kudoing, bookmarking, living life to its fullest, and checking out my other stuff
> 
> stay safe xx


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